While there have been important advances in women’s leadership in politics, as of November 1 2017, women make up only 7.2% of Heads of State and 6.2% Heads of Government. Data on women representatives in local government, including as mayors, heads of villages and towns, is not well collected and analyzed. The adoption of an SDG indicator on women’s representation in local government is a great step forward in tracking progress on gender balance, allowing for the systematic collection and analysis of data on women in local government. Women’s access to and continued role in leadership positions is challenged by a range of barriers, including discriminatory laws and practices, as well as social norms that prescribe traditional roles and attitudes towards women’s participation in leadership and decision-making roles. Proactive gender-equality policies within political parties and local government structures, including quotas and special temporary measures, gender-sensitive approaches to electoral processes, support networks, mentoring, training, and engagement of male champions, can all help promote women’s role in political leadership.
Parliamentarians from around the world gathered at the United Nations in New York on 14 July for the IPU Parliamentary Forum at the 2026 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sust
From capacity building to empowering women in politics: The mark of a project for gender equality.
Days before April 7
Thirty-one years after the historic 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, a new wave of socio-political advocacy is sweeping across Africa and the globe, demanding concrete systemic reforms rather than the rhetorical promises that have characterized the past three decades.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania will host the first Women’s Parliamentary Conference in November, giving the country an opportunity to strengthen its role in regional peace and security efforts while promoting greater participation of women in political decision-making across the Great L
SOUTH AFRICA, Johannesburg FORMER South Africa’s First Lady Ms Zanele Mbeki has called for continuous actions by women from across Africa and the world at large in the struggle for their rights in order to fast track realisation of the iss
A photograph of a voter-registration card lands on a Kenyan social feed. The caption reads Niko Kadi — ‘I am registered’. Another young person posts their own.